Greener Homemade Disinfecting Wipes Without the Harmful Chemicals!

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{Note from Jessica: Today’s post is shared by my sweet friend Mindy. Mindy is a whole food lover with a passion for sharing natural and safe alternatives to conventional beauty products. Transitioning to a healthier lifestyle can seem overwhelming. So at her blog, Simple Pure Beauty, she likes to keep things simple by sharing safe, natural beauty product recipes and remedies using very few ingredients. Stop by Mindy’s blog to learn about natural remedies, simple whole food cooking and creating safe, healthy environments for our families.}

I know we’ve all seen the commercials claiming to kill 99.9% of germs on your surfaces. Like a magic pill to keep your family healthy during cold and flu season… I personally don’t buy into this philosophy and know that we need to be exposed to germs so our bodies can build up their natural immunity.

For many, Clorox® disinfecting wipes or Lysol® sprays are used on a daily basis with the promise to keep your family “healthy.” But what is the trade off, and what other harmful chemicals and carcinogens are we being exposed to when we use these products?

I always cringe when I see someone wiping off a baby toy with a Clorox® wipe. All I can think about is the next time that baby puts that toy in his mouth…. What residual chemicals and harmful ingredients with he or she be ingesting?

My latest pet peeve would have to be the Lysol® spray commercials showing a mother lifting up the comforter and spraying her child’s bed with Lysol®. Ahhhh, I just want to yell at the TV, “What are you doing?” “What are you teaching people?” To create a chemical bath for your child to sleep in each night? Please stop this insanity!

You may think I am overreacting just a bit, but what are the ingredients in Clorox® disinfecting wipes?

Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes Ingredients

If you look at the label of Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes, you will see that it only lists a few ingredients. But Clorox® is very forthcoming about their ingredients and you can find the complete list on their website.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t paint a very pretty picture. This includes a myriad of chemicals linked to asthma, allergies, respiratory problems, skin burns and eye damage.

And the kicker could be the hundreds of toxic fragrance chemicals hidden behind the word “Fragrance” on the label.

Clorox® has a GIGANTIC list of the fragrance chemicals that are used in their products right on their website as well. See Here. I didn’t take the time to count them, but I am sure it’s well over 1,000.

So what are the alternatives?

I don’t like using Clorox® wipes, but I don’t necessarily want my kids to be sick and my house dirty all the time.

So what are the alternatives for a clean house without the chemicals?

You can just make your own natural cleaning products. My favorite go to for DIY cleaning products is Heather Dessinger’s Non-Toxic Cleaning Recipes Guide. It includes simple recipes for anything you could possibly need to clean. I love keeping things simple and this guide does that.

I love using an all-purpose vinegar spray cleaner that uses vinegar, water and essential oils for most of the surfaces in my house. But if you want the convenience of a disinfecting wipe without the chemicals, I will show you how you can easily make homemade disinfecting wipes.

For more information about the essential oils I use for myself and my family, click here.

Directions:

Mix together water, vinegar and essential oils.

Stack your cloths and roll them up and place them in your jar. (Or just stuff them into your container)

Pour your water and vinegar mixture evenly over the cloths. Give it a good shake to make sure all of your cloths get soaked.

Place a lid on your jar and store in a cool, dark place.

Note: these are re-usable. Just toss them in the wash and make a new batch. If you have liquid leftover, you can re-use that as well.

That’s it. A simple, easy way to make homemade disinfecting wipes and avoid all of the harmful chemicals and nasty side effects!

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Jessica is a real food wellness educator and the founder of the Delicious Obsessions website. She has had a life-long passion for food and being in the kitchen is where she is the happiest. She began helping her mother cook and bake around the age of three and she's been in the kitchen ever since, including working in a restaurant in her hometown for almost a decade, where she worked every position before finally becoming the lead chef. Jessica started Delicious Obsessions in 2010 as a way to help share her love for food and cooking. Since then, it has grown into a trusted online resource with a vibrant community of people learning to live healthy, happy lives through real food and natural living.

Hi Sue – I’m not really sure how many paper towels you would need since I have not made it that way. I would start with 20 or so and then just add more until most of the liquid has been absorbed into the towels. Sorry I can’t be of more specific help! 🙂

I just keep a spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide beside the sink, spray and wipe down everything. Have another spray container with vinegar to use as well works the same way, I just don’t prepare the wipes beforehand. Just spritz and wipe down.

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